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Thursday, May 2, 2024

Natural Magick (the gray witch way) ~ What's in it?

 

I forget how jam-packed this book is until I go back and revisit it, which I'm inexplicably drawn to do from time to time.  The oddest thing about writing books is that when you go back and re-read them, you don't remember where these thoughts and ideas and words all came from. (Did I say that?)  Writing a book is kind of like being momentarily possessed.  Below, you'll find the Table of Contents to Natural Magick the Gray Witch Way, and maybe you too will be inexplicably drawn to this book.  



How does real magick work?...10

 

Forms of Magick...13

 

The Mysteries of Magickal Manifestation...19

 

Creating Magickal Space...26

 

A Checklist of Magickal Supplies…53

 

Charging your Magickal Tools...65

 

Twelve Months of Magick...72

 

Seven Days of Magick…104

 

Animal Magick...115

 

Magick for Love n’ Money...144

 

·         Love Spells...151

·         Love Potion #9

·         Rose Spell

·         Smooth Marital Turmoil

·         Hot Sex Spell

·         Makin’ Tracks

 

·         Love Spells for Men...157

·         Make Her Behave:  Pubic Hair Spell

·         Magickal Male Enhancement


·         Love Spells for Women...161

·         Keep Him Faithful Spell

·         Attract Your Man

·         Irresistibly Spell

 

Money…166

 

·         Money Spells...169

·         Silver Coin Spell

·         Loose the Miser Spell

·         New Business Money Mojo

·         Sugar Honey Jar Spell

·         Home Money Spell

·         Pocket Money Spell

 

Mojo Magick...182

 

·         Poppets...184

·         Mojo Bags...207

 

Magick Oils/Potions/Powders...226

 

Crystal Magick...270

        

Candle Magick...297

 

Magickal Alphabets and Symbols...314

 

·         Runes…316

·         Witch’s Alphabet…325

·         The Pentagram…329

·         The Elements…334

·         Planets…341

·         Astrological Symbols…354

 

Witches’ Bottles...366        

 

Essential Oils…386

 

Kitchen Magick…392

 

·         Recipes...405

·         Strawberry Love Salad

·         Lady Amythyst’s Pumpkin Pie

·         Gingerbread

·         Litha Peach Cobbler

·         Full Moon Biscuits

·         Deviled Eostre Eggs

·         Lammas Loaf

·         Midsummer’s Night Tea

·         Garden Magick Soup

·         Green Man Cake

·         Beltane Bean Dish

 

Good Luck Charms…439

 

Questions and Answers...447

 

·         What is the difference between white and black magick?

·         Is it possible to dwell too much on a spell you’ve cast & ruin it?

·         Who can do magick?

·         What is a familiar?

·         What is neo-paganism?

·         Do All witches practice their religion the same way?

·         Who is the Wiccan Goddess?

·         When did you first know you were a witch? 

 

Magickal Substitutions...467

        

Terms and Lingo...473

        


 

Ghosts of Middle School Past

 

I put in a friends request to connect with a couple of editors from a popular, mostly new-age, publishing company, thinking nothing of it.  I have social site connections with numerous editors and publishers from a wide variety of publishing houses.  So when I made this request, it was not like I was some random character who would have absolutely no reason to connect with anyone in this field or line of work; we actually have numerous common connections.

Much to my surprise, not only were these requests rejected, both of these people blocked me!

Why?  I'm absolutley stumped, not to mention that my 'widdle feelings are hurt, and I feel like I've been black-balled.  It has also lowered my opinion of this publishing house, as it doesn't seem very friendly or open to new contacts. 

This is like a deja-vu moment from the halls of Junior High.

Being an outsider makes you a really good writer.

~ Mitski



Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Cryptids ~ Chupacabra

 



What is a chupacabra?

Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and according to reports, the creature acts much like a vampire, killing animals by sucking their blood. Though similar stories date back several decades, the first major wave of alleged chupacabra sightings came from farmers in Puerto Rico in the late 1980s and early 1990s.


Where does the chupacabra show up?

Physical descriptions of the creature vary. In Puerto Rico, it is generally described as a heavy creature, reptilian and alien-like, roughly the size of a small bear, and with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail, while in the Southwestern United States it is depicted as more dog-like.

Initial sightings and accompanying descriptions first occurred in Puerto Rico in 1995. The creature has since been reported as far north as Maine, as far south as Chile, and even outside the Americas in countries like Russia and the Philippines. All of the reports are anecdotal and have been disregarded as uncorroborated or lacking evidence. Sightings in northern Mexico and the southern United States have been verified as canids afflicted by mange.


How did the story of the chupacabra start?


In 1975, a series of livestock killings in the small town of Moca, Puerto Rico, were attributed to el vampiro de Moca ('the vampire of Moca'). Initially, it was suspected that the killings were committed by a Satanic cult; later more killings were reported around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. Each of the animals was reported to have had its body bled dry through a series of small circular incisions.

The first reported attack eventually attributed to the actual chupacabras occurred in March 1995. Eight sheep were discovered dead in Puerto Rico, each with three puncture wounds in the chest area and reportedly completely drained of blood. A few months later, in August, an eyewitness named Madelyne Tolentino reported seeing the creature in the Puerto Rican town of Canóvanas, where as many as 150 farm animals and pets were reportedly killed.

Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term chupacabras soon after the first incidents were reported in the press. Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and the United States.



Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Questions ~ Publishing Shakeups

 

I have a question for Publishers and others in the Publishing World out there...

I wrote two books with Callisto Media/Rockridge Press. Callisto Media has since been bought out:

"NAPERVILLE, Ill., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The publishing assets of Callisto Media, a leading nonfiction publisher, have been sold in a Sourcebooks-led, Penguin Random House-funded acquisition."

The books I published with them then began being distributed by Simon & Schuster, and I found both of my books, as well as an author page up in my name, at Simon & Schuster's website.

Simon & Schuster has since been sold out:

"In [October, I believe] 2023, leading global investment firm KKR acquired Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global. For the first time in nearly 50 years, Simon & Schuster was no longer part of a larger conglomerate, marking a return to its roots as a standalone, independent publishing company."

I just recently discovered that my books and my author page have both disappeared from Simon & Schuster's website. I also looked up an aquaintance on this site, a fellow Callisto author, and her books and author page were gone as well.

My questions:

  • What happens to our books?
  • How can we find out?
  • Will Rockridge books be shuffled around to another company?
  • Could these books go out of print?

These were contracted works, a one-time payment, it's not like I'm going to miss out on royalties; but these are very popular books and the sales of these books helps to promote my other books. And then, there's all the hard work that went into writing these books; I'm proud of them and I want them to do well for whatever company they wind up with.




Monday, April 29, 2024

The Pagan Goddess ~ Triple Goddess

 

  • The Crone…
I don’t know if it’s this time of year or this phase of life I’m in now, but I feel a tremendous magnetic pull to The Crone. I relish her– I revel in the beauty of her darkness and the depth of her knowledge and all the life tasted that she represents to me. She is a milestone, a goal, an accomplishment.

She brings to me a sense of peace, as I hope she does to all of you.

  • The Mother…
It is the Mother aspect of the Goddess that seems to encompass most of our lives– we are the nurturers. Whether we are women who have given birth to our own children, or find ourselves entrusted with the care of other women’s children. And it is not only the children of the world we nurture, but the animals, the earth itself, and the men in our lives. We nurture growth in all things, including new ideas and ventures, in the arts and literature, in all things worthwhile that need careful care and a magic touch. Within that magic touch is the promise of creation and growth.

  • The Maiden…
It has been my experience that the older a woman gets, the farther away the Maiden feels. It is probably a natural progression. And yet, even women entering the more mature phases of life need the vital life force of this aspect of the Goddess. She is what propels us forward with strength and tenacity and the self-confidence to discover our inner selves and our hidden strengths.




Welcome to the Dark Side ~ says The Moon

 

The Moon ~

  • The World; Justice; Queen/wands

You send us through portals on a whim and a prayer, ignoring our pleas and screams of protest, unaware yourself of where this new passageway will take us. You just know that we have to go. You grab us by the shoulders and stand us before a mirror, forcing us to look at ourselves, our lives, and our direction with unabashed clarity and often cruel introspection. Be gone self-deception, you command. Finish what you start; wipe the slate clean; find the truth; avoid the dark places if possible…all these you whisper in our ear.

Life isn’t always fair, you state firmly and calmly, almost nonchalantly. Justice is subjective, just like art. It all depends upon your perspective as to whom is getting the fair end of the stick. Again, warnings of deception, whether coming from outside sources or from the dark corners of our own minds, filter through the symbolism on your face, the images you carry. You are rife with warnings, really wanting us to avoid the pitfalls and potholes before us, but knowing that we must choose to do so, we must choose our path, we must learn by our mistakes…and we must learn by our victories.

You tell us to get a firm grasp on life; be vigilante; be forceful when the need arises; avoid the dark side of life, the dark side of our psyche, but don’t be afraid to go there when necessity rears its ugly head. Be in control, be strong, get organized, don’t waver before duty, don’t cower before life.




Is Fairy Dust Real?... well, is it?

 

I was asked a question today, basically, whether fairy dust is “real” or not. It was a good question. This is my answer:

All “magic” is mental. It all stems from the mind. The ability to perform magic is inherent within us all, it is natural; but most people have lost the capacity to accomplish magic because they’ve lost the ability to believe, to focus, to visualize, and to work with their natural energy.

That is where the “fairy dust” comes in. It is a magickal “prop”, as are candles and cauldrons, athames, herbs, and other baubles and interesting items used to cast spells. Their main purpose is to help you focus, to keep your intention clear, to assist you with visualization, to help you raise energy, because that's where the magic is.

The majority of magical practitioners need these “visual aids” to perform magic.

There are, however, a few people who don’t need all the physical trappings and paraphernalia of witchcraft. Their mental abilities alone are such that they can cast spells and work magic without all the usual props. These people are very rare indeed, these people are called "Adepts".

So, is fairy dust real?... If you *Believe* it is, then it is.




Friday, April 26, 2024

Cryptids ~ The Shug Monkey

 


Source: Wikepedia 

In the folklore of Cambridgeshire, the Shug Monkey is a creature that shares features of a dog and monkey, which reportedly haunted Slough Hill Lane (a street that leads from the village of West Wratting to nearby Balsham). The creature, believed to have the body of a jet-black shaggy sheepdog and the face of a monkey with staring eyes, was believed to be a supernatural ghost or demon. Local writer and broadcaster James Wentworth Day, who first related stories of the Shug Monkey in Here Are Ghosts and Witches (1954), described it as a curious variation of Black Shuck, while local folklorist Polly Howat suggests that both share common origins in Norse mythology.






Tuesday, April 23, 2024

From My Paranormal Journal ~ Cheryl

 

Taken from my Paranormal Journal... (March, 2004)

I was awoken abruptly out of a sound sleep—someone was crying, calling out to me. I thought it was one of my children and even called out, “I’m coming!”

I got up and checked the house—everyone was sound asleep.

The next morning I told my husband about it. He said, “Last night I thought I saw someone walk into the bedroom, and I thought it was you—until I realized my hand was on your hip!”

Also, yesterday, the lights in the living room turned themselves on three different times.

Note: The day before these odd occurrences, I had been released from the hospital from an overnight stay for a minor procedure. This is the same hospital that my husband’s girl friend had passed away in three years ago from colon cancer... Her name was Cheryl.

  • The nurse I had the two days I was in the hospital was named... Cheryl.
  • The nurse who prepped me for the procedure was named... Cheryl.
  • The lady who came in to clean my room was... Cheryl’s aunt, her mother’s sister.





I didn't want to be rude ~ but, really?

 

I have begun paring down some of my Facebook pages, and trimming up and redoing some of my websites and blogs, as my creativity is taking new twists and turns and bents, as everything eventually does with time.

I had a FB page to connect with my websites, two of them, and then there was an author's page, because why not, all the authors on FB seem to do that; and there were ten pages for my books, each book having its own special page, tra-la-la.  I deactivated all of these.  I believe that's 13 pages?

The Witch's Corner FB page was probably the most predominantly popular page, with 40,000 likes and followers.  Now, mind you, that it so deceptive.  For all the cotton pickin' posts that I made on this FB page, for years, there was virtuallly NO interaction, none at all.  I felt like I was talking to myself.  I really didn't think that anyone was paying any attention, or that maybe FB was not allowing this page to be seen.  

So, just to be courteous, and because it's what you usually do, before I deactivated this page I put up a little post stating that I would be doing this on a particular date. I had over 100 people respond to this post.  I know, out of 40,000 that's still not even a drop in the bucket, but when you compare it to ZERO, it's a miracle.  

One lady said something to the effect:  "I'm so sorry to see this go, this page has been such an inspiration to me for such a long time; I just love it, but you do what you think you have to do."

Really?

You mean it never occured to this woman over the course of this "long time" to interact at all?  Not to click the Like button, not to leave a comment, nothing... she was lurking, just my opinion.  Did she think I, as a creator, would keep this up forever with absolutley No Feedback, no idea if anyone was reading it, or if anyone liked it?  I had no idea if anyone could even see it!

I was disgusted.

And that's the end of my story/rant today. 



Monday, April 22, 2024

about.me ~ anyone else heard of/use this site?

 

So, I've had a page up at this site for years, put it up back in the day when it was so much fun to discover all these new places you could post Stuff.  But I don't know if anyone really sees it, if anything on this site is viewable at all, or if this freebie page that I sat up is hidden in a closet somewhere, buried under boxes of junk, and stored away from other pages on this site, pages where people have "gone premium".  

Back in the day, when everyone was getting started, and the internet was a wide open empty space just begging for content, everything was free.  I don't know about you, but it sure was a rude awakening for me when websites suddenly started demanding money to keep your page, or so restricted your free page that it might as well not exist.  It wasn't fun anymore.  And I don't know about anyone else, but I can't afford, nor would it be worth my while, to suddenly become a premium customer.  Ain't gonna' happen.

Here's a link, check it out, see what you think...

https://about.me/amythystraine




Sunday, April 21, 2024

Magic Spells You Can Cast Yourself

 

You want to look, I know you do.

Casting spells is easy, even for the beginner, or the true virginal novice.  It's like working with a recipe in the kitchen.  There are ingredients, and there are directions so you know what to do with the ingredients, and of course there's a matter of timing involved.  That's all there is to it, really.  And did you know, just like working with recipes from a cookbook in the kitchen, you can make changes to a spell to make it really your own creation, with a tweak here and a little tweak there, and voila, before you know it, you're doing magick and being really creative and even adventursome about it.

Does it work?  Quite honestly, for me, most of the time it has, but it might not work exactly in the way that you expected it to.  Sometimes it's better, and sometimes it's just unexpected, and sometimes it doesn't work.  Why?  I don't know, maybe the timing was off, the stars and heavenly bodies and all thier glorious energy were not working in your favor, or maybe it's yourself that was "off", and Spirit knew it, and the universe shivered at the overwhelming amount of pent up anger, or rage, or anxiety, or fear emanting from your soul.  Sometimes we get in our own way of success, and this includes in the practice of magic.

But it's always there.  You have the chance to clear your head, clean up your thoughts, ground and center yourself, browse through spells and ingredients -- herbs, and candles, and incense, and stones -- and just allow yourself to open up to all of the infinite possibilities the universe lays at our feet.

Now, go find yourself a spell that I know you need, and work some magic...




Daily Cards/Daily Energy ~ She's leaving

 



Join me today as I pull some cards and see what Spirit and the universe have to tell us. Are the cards speaking to you today?

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Mystic Crone Podcast, Episode #25 ~ 6 cards

 

The six cards drawn today throw a spot light on decisions, the fact that someone's trying to manipulate you financially, and they make a good point of reminding us that we really need to know who are friends are -- and who they are not.



Sunday, April 14, 2024

Let's Retire These Phrases

 

Two phrases I'm really tired of hearing. They have been so overused, please stop: 

1) "please smash the like button" ~ obviously some YouTuber came up with this phrase, thinking that they were being original and clever, but it seems like almost every soul out there with a YouTube channel has picked it up, thinking they are being original and clever without having to come up with something on their own. 

2) "the thing I love about you is that you really don't know how good you are" ~ has said every judge at every singing audition out there. We all know that these talented and untalented folks auditioning for these shows are just fodder for this season's episodes. Very -- VERY -- rarely does anyone ever rise above this to become a genuine star.

 


 

Episode #24, Daily Cards/Daily Energy ~ A Warning

 



Saturday, April 6, 2024

Seer, Dreamer, Visionary

 
The Knight of Cups... You hold in your hand the sacred grail, as elusive and mysterious as the paramour that once was, and you peer within its depths looking for answers that do not exist, for questions that were never asked.

Join me...
click  HERE



Episode #23, Mystic Crone Podcast ~ daily cards, daily energy

 

For three readings in a row now the Queen of Wands has come up.  I was shocked when I drew this card a third time.  For me she represents two specific individuals, individuals that were in my life at one time, but that I would not want involved with my life now.  It's a long story.

Our cards for today:
  • Queen/wands
  • 9/wands
  • 10/wands
  • The Moon
  • The Empress
  • Knight/cups




Friday, April 5, 2024

The Art of Psychometry

 

Psychometry is the ability to pick up information when holding an object in your hands using your psychic abilities. Let's explore psychometry -- the what, the how, the history, and the infinitie possiblities. I also include my own psychometric experience, one of the most powerful psychic experiences that I've had.

My Writing Space ~ The Divine Me, audio excerpt

 



You can purchase your copy of The Divine Me
@ Amazon, in print or kindle

click  HERE




Thursday, April 4, 2024

Episode #22, Mystic Crone Podcast ~ daily cards, daily energy

 



Hello, and welcome to the Mystic Crone Podcast! Today we have a repeat card/character that came up -- the Queen of Wands. So how has her situation resolved itself, improved itself, or highlighted itself since yesterday? Our other cards for today include:

  • Queen/wands
  • The Empress
  • 6/pentacles
  • 5/wands
  • The Tower
  • 10/swords

If the universe and Spirit have a message for you today, you’ll find it here!

Blessings,
The Mystic Crone




Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Episode #21, Mystic Crone Podcast ~ Daily Cards/Daily Energy

 


Episode #21 Daily Cards/Daily Wisdom

Daily Cards/Daily Energy... I had a delightful morning on the front porch with my tarot cards, my personal tarot journal, and a good coffee. I recorded a short reading for you today, and our cards are:
  • Queen of wands
  • Knight of swords
  • 9 of cups
  • 3 of swords
If you're meant to find a message today, you'll find it here. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Paranormal Investigation #2 ~ the house by the woods

 

This investigation included a lovely quaint little house sitting on the edge of the woods. This experience was very different than the last investigation we conducted. First, there were fewer images taken; the family was more interested in following us around and talking all the while; and they were also very excited and eager to share their own paranormal experiences with us. Much of this, of course, was very personal and was considered private. This did not detract from the excitment that always accompanies an investigation, or the expectations of what we'll uncover. Enjoy!